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Saturday, 28 May 2016

Head of the Russian General Staff told journalists that trucks carrying weapons for the al-Nusra Front cross from Turkey into Syria daily. This allows the terrorist group to continue attacking local targets.

Lt. Gen. Sergey Rudskoy said in his press briefing on Friday that weapons and ammunition are continuously being delivered to the al-Nusra Front terrorists in Syria, allowing them to engage Syrian government forces and hindering the fight against Daesh in the country.

“The never-ending flow of large trucks from Turkey carrying weapons and ammunition crosses the Turkish-Syrian border. This constant feed of live forces and weapons allows terrorists from the Nusra Front to continue their provocative shelling and make advances on Syrian government forces, which diminishes [government military] activity against Islamic State terrorists in other areas,” Rudskoy said during a briefing.

Rudskoy also added that the US has acknowledged that the heaviest fighting is centered around areas where the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Nusra Front is most active.

“Everyone knows, and our US partners admit that the biggest hot spots of active military operations are those parts of the Syrian Republic where the al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists from the al-Nusra Front run rampant.”

So far, according to Rudskoy, the US has refused to conduct joint operations against terrorist groups in Syria, which has led to an escalation of the conflict.

The al-Nusra Front terrorist group hampers the ceasefire efforts in northern areas of Syria, the Russian General Staff said Friday.

“It is very clear that the terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra, active in the regions of Aleppo and Idlib, is the main obstacle to expanding the ceasefire regime to northern areas of Syria,” Sergey Rudskoy, chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the Russian General Staff, said.

Moreover, the Al-Nusra Front has used the ‘period of silence’ to partly restore its combat capability. Rudskoy told reporters.

Earlier, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu offered to conduct joint air strikes against terrorist groups in Syria, but the Pentagon declined the offer. However, The Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry says Moscow hasn’t ruled out a possible joint operation in the future.

Terrorist group Al-Nusra Front is receiving daily arms shipments across the border from Turkey, the Russian General Staff says. The Al-Qaeda offshoot used the truce between government forces and moderate rebels in Syria to regroup and renew hostilities.

“Damascus is being continuously shelled from Eastern Gouta. There were numerous attempts to capture power station near Homs and block the road connecting Aleppo and Damascus. The flow of trucks carrying weapons and ammunition from Turkey continues, with border crossings reported on daily basis,” he said.

The general added that Al-Nusra Front attacks are confirmed by other nations as well, and that they agree with Russia’s assessment of the negative impact of the militant group.

“It’s obvious that the terrorist group, which operates in Aleppo and Idleb provinces, is currently the biggest stumbling block for the process of expanding the truce to new territories in northern Syria,” Rudskoy said.

Al-Nusra Front benefited from the truce because some of the territories under its control are mixed with those, which were designated as held by so-called moderate rebel forces and which are excluded from Russian airstrike missions, he stressed.

In some areas Al-Nusra Front managed to take initiative, Rudskoy said. Three villages were captured by the terrorists from the government in the last few days while heavy fighting continues in the northern part of Aleppo city.

The Russian General Staff said that pressure exerted by Russia on armed groups in Syria continues to bear fruit. Over the last few days 17 armed groups, many of which were influenced by or pledged allegiance to Al-Nusra Front, agreed to join the truce. The general says that looming bombings of the terrorist forces, which Russia suggested to carry out together with the Americans, gave an incentive to the switch of sides.

Russia is assisting Syrian forces in their fight against terrorist groups and attempts to reconcile with rebels, who are willing to seek a peace transition. The effort is undermined by the fact that terrorist groups like ISIL and Al-Nusra Front are not part of the US and Russia-negotiated ceasefire and continue hostilities. Al-Nusra Front in particular regularly attacks both rebels and government forces in an apparent attempt to derail the truce.

Moscow wants to intensify airstrikes on Al-Nusra Front positions, but is putting them on hold due to the murky borders between the extremist group and militants, who are supposedly supporting the truce. Russia has asked the US to put pressure on the rebels, so that a clear distinction could be established between their territories and those of the terrorists.

“Our American partners are stalling the process of differentiation between the opposition groups under their control and the terrorist, which not only discredits the entire so-called moderate opposition, but also derails the peace process and leads to a renewal of hostilities in Syria,” Rudskoy warned.

Another problem comes from fringe Islamist groups like Ahrar Al-Sham and Jaysh al-Islam. Russia says neither is truly committed to the peace process and both have committed numerous atrocities. Moscow wants them acknowledged as terrorists and legitimate targets for airstrikes. The US opposes this, saying that both groups have the backing of Saudi Arabia and are represented at the UN-sponsored peace talks.